Lets Get Earthy!

Yesterday was one of the most important days of the year: Earth Day. Yes, it is is important because are we are decimating our earth and ourselves in the process. It is important because people take action planting trees, organizing events, and enjoying the beauty of earth. But the real importance is in its principle. It is one of the only days that the world becomes a community. There are no barriers separating people of different ethnicities, religion, gender, and race. It is the one thing, aside from being human, that every single person in this entire world shares and feels the same way about. Nobody, albeit some crazies, wants to see the deterioration of earth. This is why I urge everyone to go the Earth Day website (click HERE), and sign the pledge to act green. You might think that your actions, as an individual, doesn't matter. But just imagine if all seven billion of us humans did an act of green. And for that matter, don't limit yourself to today. Try living everyday consientous of your actions on our earth. Earth will thank ya!

Jesus Camp

It is crazy that I have spent almost a month researching Evangelism, and never truly felt I "knew" this religion until last night. Doc Oc suggested I watch the documentary Jesus Camp, and it was truly eye-opening. It follows a very radical, fundamental Evangelist summer camp in North Dakota. Truthfully, it was shocking. There were children crying, seizuring, and speaking in tongues(click HERE). Parents were homeschooling children and blatantly teaching their children global warming was a hoax by liberals. Children were approaching strangers in the park and asking for their vow to accept Jesus. These same children were vowing to die in the name of Jesus Christ. I tried to be as subjective and non-judgemental as possible, but for someone so used to the North Shore, it became pretty difficult to watch. My mom had to leave the room.

While this was all so fascinating to observe, I think the biggest culture shock to me was just how important religion is in the lives of these people. They speak, breathe, and eat in the name of Jesus Christ. Everything in their lives is dictated by religion. It was eye-opening in the least, and yet I completley understand that this is not remotely close to what all Evangelists lives are like. These are the most extreme of the extreme.

I highly suggest to my peers that they look into a documentary or movie about their topic. While books are articles are fine, they can never grasp the images and footage that movies can reveal.

Junior Theme...

Only several days until the "full draft" is due, and I am lagging painfully behind. I believe it is a combination of my tendency to procrastinate and my obsessive-compulsive need to finish every step in my writing process. Right now I have an intro, an effective thesis, and a fairly decent outline. But because I am so picky about the writing process, I need to completely finish my outline with all evidence I will use so I can begin.

Despite not having officially began the writing process, I have already learned so much from this paper. Yes, I know a crazy amount of statistics and facts about Evangelism. But so far I have learned the most about me and my writing habits. As of now I am behind and very stressed. But if I have learned anything this year in American Studies, it is that sometimes stress is exactly what I need to get a paper done.

Praise the Confederacy-Hallelujah!

My Junior Theme topic is the Development of Evangelism in the South. It began with me having a pretty basic, not-too-complicated observation: Christianity is a big part of the South's culture. From there it morphed into why. Why is the South so Christian? Specifically, why is the South mostly associated with Evangelical Christianity.

I have learned a lot from my research. But what I didn't realize is how connected the development of Christianity in the South is to everything we have learned in class so far. In a blog I wrote earlier this year, I Pledge Allegiance, To The Flag, Of The Confederacy , I spoke of the rampant Confederate flag seen throughout the South and Southern culture today. I linked this to the Reconstruction- Are the reconstruction plans we had in part to blame?

After my research, I learned a lot more about the post Civil War South. In part to reaffirm their identity, and in part to ensure their wartime losses and efforts weren't in vain; the South maintained Confederate rituals well into twentieth century. They dedicated monuments to Confederate heroes, issued a Confederate Memorial Day, and had a vast array of art idolizing the Confederate army. The organizations, such as the still-exisiting United Daughters of The Confederacy, also glorified the Confederacy.

And how is religion tied in? Confederate heroes were preachers at revival meetings and viewed as martyrs. The civil war wasn't just a war for freedom, it was a war for Jesus. It is interesting how everything is tied together. This project doesn't just answer the question we initially asked. In my quest to answer that one question, I have found answers to questions we have been asking all year long in American Studies.